Jewish Characters

Five characters in the Ikons saga are Jewish.  Only one is based on an historic figure, while the other four are characters I developed as the story went along.  Why I chose to make them Jewish is not clear to me.  It could be because those I've experienced had complex personalities which could be molded into story lines.

Abraham Minsker appears in all three novels, while Jacov Tarovski is in Ikons and Banners, and Lev Bogdanov, Adam Babel, and Isaac Saltsberg appear only in Slogans.

Jacov Tarovski

Tarovski and his assistant Josef the Tatar run Hutava's inn. I didn't know it at the time I wrote him, but there were several Jewish shtetl in the vicinity of Hutava.  It is within the realm of possibilityTarovski existed.  During my research, I also discovered Muslims were prized as bartenders as they would not be tempted to drink up the profits, thus the addition of Josef.

Meeting of the village mir outside Tarovski's inn

I thought it was clever to have these two outsiders as members of the village.  Jocov's inn was used for meetings of the village council, the mir, but since neither Jacov and Josef were Christian, they could not join in discussions or decision making.  Even though they were outsiders, both men played important roles in Massey's escape from Russia and Hutava's destruction at the hands of the Cossack.

Abraham Minsker

I really enjoyed creating Abraham Minsker.  From the time Massey first met him in a Rockdale  grocery store to the day Abraham became president of the Western bank of Illinois, he was the one character I could always count on to provide insight into Massey's perilous situations.  

Minsker's first bank - A table, a chair and a Shredded Wheat box
 in the back of Brosman's grocery store

I had two Jewish men in my writers group, Rick Newman and Jules Sherman.  Both had personalities I borrowed in fleshing out Minsker.  Abraham's wisdom and strength was enough to influence Massey, but not so overpowering that Massey was a mere puppet.  I believe both men respected each other, but their religious gap was never bridged.  While in the last chapter Massey and Abraham reminisce over glasses of homemade wine, I don't think Massey would ever say, "One of my best friends is Jewish."

Lev Bogdanov

Komisar Lev Bogdanov was discussed in the villains' post.  His religion was never mentioned by the villagers, but always lurked just below the surface.  Being Communist was enough for the them to dislike him.  I pictured Lev as Jewish for two reasons.  First, during the early years of the Russian revolution many commissars were Jewish.  Second, I wanted to include my collage friend, Alfred Bogdanoff in the story.  Since his family traced back to Russian Jews, I used his name and personality.  Thanks, Al.

Adam Babel

I remember my father speaking of his concertina, but I never experienced his ability.  It wasn't until I translated an old letter from his cousin in Russia that I realized he was well known for his music.  Stefan's concertina originated in Banners.  The village patriarch, Telepnev, led Hutava's young men off to war with a concertina march.  Later, Telepnev bequeathed his instrument to Stefan upon the old man's death.

Music was important in the Russian soldier's life

Adam Babel was a member of the Red Army and head of the contingent that herded civilian  "volunteers" into Unkurda to aid in the spring planting.  Like Telepnev, Babel used his concertina to provide rousing music for the procession.  Both Stefan and Vanya were drawn to the military men and entertained the them by squat dancing.  When Babel noticed Stefan having trouble keeping up with his fleet footed brother, he convinced Stefan his future was not in dance but with the concertina.  Later in the story Babel comes to Stefan's rescue when a member of the Red Army tries to steal the boy's most prized possession.

Isaac Saltsberg

While Isaac Saltsberg is the last character to appear in my trilogy, he was the first I created.  Isaac is based on family lore.  According to the story, my father and uncle were among the thousands of children cast adrift in the wake of the Russian-Polish War.  Their link to their father was a family picture containing their father's address in America.  The boys tried to sell it to a Jewish peddler, who discovered the address and took the boys to a police station.  Thanks to him, they were eventually, reunited with their their father.

A peddler sets up shop outside a Displaced Person's camp

I banged out this description of Isaac about twenty-five years before Slogans.

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"Isaac Saltsberg considered himself an honorable man―a mentsh.  Indeed, he was one was one of the “pious ones,” a Hasidim Jew, an ultra-orthodox sect that traced its roots back to Rabbi Baal Shem Tov, one of Uods holiest men.  Isaac lived the Law and respected Tradition.  He followed his religion's precepts as spelled out in the Torah and was just and loving to his people and dealt fairly with those who were not." 

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The original Isaac had a son, but I wrote him out when it became too complicated.

Even though Isaac is fictional, I found disconcerting to know that within two decades, Isaac and millions like him would be exterminated by Nazi Germany.